Chapter 3 #4
I buried my face against my knees, shoulders shaking with suppressed laughter.
When I finally looked up, Theo was fighting to keep his own eyes open, his mimicking forgotten.
Within minutes, he too had drifted into sleep’s embrace, curling on his side with one arm tucked under his head as a makeshift pillow.
The firelight softened his features, making him look younger, like the boy I’d grown up with.
I watched the flames for a while longer, until exhaustion tugged at my eyelids, making them impossibly heavy.
With the last of my energy, I crawled over to Theo and flopped down beside him. I grabbed his limp arm and wrapped it around me like a blanket, tucking it tight against my chest. He murmured something then adjusted, his body curving protectively around mine.
I took deep, steady breaths, matching my rhythm to his.
Tomorrow, we would make it to the Veil and everything would change.
The thought should’ve terrified me—should’ve sent pain coursing through my veins. But with Theo’s warmth at my back and Tavrik’s questionable snoring creating a strange, soothing lullaby, an unexpected sense of peace washed over me.
A scream clawed its way up my throat but died before it could escape, strangled by the weight of Theo’s arm pinning me down. I twisted my head, chest heaving violently as I struggled to suck in the biting morning air—to extinguish the phantom flames that scorched my lungs from within.
Theo—thank the Heavens—remained blissfully unconscious, and judging by Tavrik’s obnoxiously loud snoring, so was he. I positioned my face toward the dawn, letting the gentle song of birds anchor my fraying sanity to the waking world.
I dragged both trembling hands down my sweat-slicked face.
I can’t do this anymore.
I pried Theo’s deadweight arm off me and moved away, rising to my feet with a symphony of cracks and pops. The physical agony radiating through my body and Zaheera’s relentless pull were still no match for the suffocating pressure building inside my skull.
Theo woke next, stretching his limbs like a cat before sitting up.
“I need a bed. A real bed, with linens and a mattress that doesn’t try and impale me with twigs and rocks. I can’t take this anymore.”
“And that—” he jabbed a finger toward Tavrik, who was stirring from his death-like slumber, “that noise.”
He mimicked Tavrik’s snoring with such brutal accuracy, I couldn’t help but double over in laughter.
“I can’t hear it anymore,” Theo moaned, slapping both hands over his ears. “My ears are actually bleeding. I checked.”
Tavrik rolled his eyes. “I don’t snore,” he stated, like he truly believed it.
“Louder than anything I’ve ever heard,” I countered, strolling over to offer my hand. I helped him to his feet, which took more effort than I’d care to admit.
“I’m certain that’s the reason no wild animals attacked us in our sleep,” Theo said, flicking dirt from his trousers. “Even the most terrifying predators wouldn’t dare interrupt whatever unholy ritual your throat was performing.”
I chuckled, earning a sharp glare from Tavrik. I threw my hands up in mock surrender. “Don’t look at me like that, it’s not my fault he’s right.”
Tavrik fought back a smile threatening to break his serious expression. “If you’re both finished…”
We all stretched our aching limbs before setting off once more, only the weight in my chest had doubled.
We would reach the Veil today. The thought plagued my mind as we walked.
The trees thinned, abandoning us to the scorching sun’s mercy. Hours had passed since the last stream—where we had drunk deeply, both for hydration and to silence the unbearable rumbling of hunger.
The relief didn’t last. My throat had turned to dust, and my lips were so cracked they might shatter if I dared to smile.
Theo’s laboured breath filled the air between us, each exhale more dramatic than the last.
“Stop breathing so loud,” I snapped, narrowing my eyes. “You sound like you’re dying.”
“I am dying.” He wheezed, stopping to brace his hands on his knees. “I don’t know how he’s doing it.” He gestured with his chin toward Tavrik, who looked annoyingly unaffected.
“You forget I served in the guard,” Tavrik said, his voice smooth. “This—” he gestured at the hellscape surrounding us with a sweep of his hand, “is nothing.” The smirk that curved his lips made Theo’s nostrils flare with irritation.
“Show off,” Theo muttered with all the venom he could muster, which wasn’t much considering he could barely remain upright. He shuffled forward, each limb moving as if weighed down by invisible chains.
We pressed on, and soon Theo’s heaving was joined by my own embarrassingly similar sounds.
Even Tavrik had a sheen of sweat glistening on his brow, and his breathing had quickened just enough to be noticeable.
The sight of his discomfort lit Theo’s face with such glee one would think he just witnessed a minor miracle.
“What happened?” Theo taunted, physically incapable of keeping his mouth shut.
He somehow found the energy to saunter toward Tavrik and clamp a hand on his shoulder. “Thought this was nothing to you.”
“Fuck off,” Tavrik growled, shoving Theo’s hand from his shoulder with enough force to make him lose his balance.
Instead of being offended, Theo laughed—a sound that quickly morphed into violent choking as he inhaled his own saliva—which in turn, caused Tavrik’s lips to twitch before reluctantly chuckling.
The sight was so unexpected, I found myself joining in, our collective hysteria echoing across the vast landscape.
Our laughter died in our throats when we saw it.
Finally.
The Veil loomed before us, a wall of shifting air, delicately shimmering like heat rising from desert sands. The closer we got, the stronger the pull became, like invisible hands grasping at my waist, dragging me forward.
“Does everyone feel that?” I asked. “Or is it just me?”
Theo stared, mesmerised. “I can feel it.” His voice held a tinge of awe as he stepped closer, eyes locked on the Veil’s ever-moving surface. The faint ripple, like stone breaking the surface of a still lake.
“Oh, I can feel it alright,” Tavrik muttered. “It feels like it’s going to drag me in.”
I ran my fingers over the near-invisible wall. The sensation was odd, like tracing over delicate silk. I could see through it, but the landscape beyond looked exactly like what was behind us. A perfect mirror.
I reached forward, pushing my hand through.
It vanished.
I yanked it back, my gaze flicking to Theo and Tavrik.
Tavrik stepped up, cautiously pressing his own hand against the Veil. He watched closely.
“It’s an illusion,” he said. “What we see here—” he gestured to the false landscape beyond, “isn’t what’s actually waiting for us.”
So, we were going in blind. Great.
My heart pounded violently, an internal war raging in my chest. My mouth went dry, my palms slick with sweat.
I can’t do this. I hate this. I want to go home.
I gripped Theo’s hand. Hard. My nails dug into his palm, but he didn’t flinch away. He just held on tighter, his calloused fingers interlacing with mine.
“Just remember what we planned.” Tavrik’s voice was like steel. “Stick to the story. Stick together.”
I swallowed my growing fear.
We will be okay. We will be okay.
Theo met my gaze and gave my hand a reassuring squeeze, our pulses beating in tandem.
With a deep breath, we stepped through.
Darkness.
A void swallowed us whole.
I felt it instantly. My body being torn away from Theo and Tavrik—our hands wrenched apart. The weightless sensation of being dragged through the abyss, my limbs flailing uselessly against nothing.
Panic surged, grasping at my throat.
“ELIRA!”
Their distant voices echoed in the black.
I tried to reach out, but I couldn’t move. I couldn’t see.
Something was pulling me deeper.
My thoughts slowed. My heartbeat faltered.
And then—nothing.
I was being moved—pulled to who knows where. My consciousness slowly started to claw its way back to me like something rising from deep water, but along with it came fear, coursing through my veins like liquid fire.
Through the ringing in my ear came the unmistakable sound of chains.
The sharp, grating clatter of metal links rattling against iron rings, echoing like a cruel symphony.
Whispers slithered around me, too low to comprehend but laced with enough venom that my skin prickled.
The smell of ash, damp earth, and something ancient coated my tongue.
My spine scraped against uneven ground, each jagged protrusion biting into my exposed skin as I was hauled forward. Whoever gripped me beneath my arms did so with crushing strength, fingers biting deep into my flesh.
My vision slowly returned in blurry patches, a haze of shapes and shifting colours. Torches lined the walls, their flames throwing eerie shadows across the rough stone. Water dripped a steady rhythm somewhere in the darkness—a countdown to something I didn’t dare name.
Everything was wrong.
A rusted metallic groan split the air. The loud creak of hinges sent bile rising in my throat. Before I could think—before I could beg or fight, I was thrown with unforgiving force.
I collided with solid stone, agony tearing through me like white-hot lightning. The impact knocked the air from my lungs, leaving me broken and gasping on the ground. My palms and knees scraped against the rough surface as I struggled to move—to make sense of my surroundings.
CLANG.
A gate slammed behind me, the reverberation rattling through my bones.
No. No. No.
I managed to lift my head, vision swimming, just in time to see a figure lingering beyond the bars, watching silently before disappearing into the darkness like they never existed. A sob tore from my throat, equal parts pain and pure terror.
Theo. Tavrik.
Where were they? What happened to them? Were they even alive?
The thought of losing Theo, of not knowing his fate, was worse than any physical misery.